Rupple Road Extension To Relieve Traffic Congestion

Share this:

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Fayetteville city leaders Tuesday night approved extending Rupple Road to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, making it easier for those along Wedington Drive to access the businesses along MLK Boulevard.

The Fayetteville City Council approved the extension 8-0. The measure also designates Rupple Road as a four-lane boulevard from Mount Comfort Road to MLK Boulevard.

"You build it once, you build it right and you build it forever," said Mayor Lioneld Jordan. "We are building this roadway right."

The $7.3 million project has been in planning since 2006. Jordan said right now is the time to expand Rupple Road, because most of the area is not developed yet.

"You build it now, so that when people build along the roadway later they know what they are building along when they move there," he said.

Lauen Wagster lives along Rupple Road and told us a four-lane roadway will help eliminate congestion in the area.

"It would be nice to have another way to MLK Boulevard, so there is not much traffic in this area," she said.

Ty Steel delivers pizza and said the extension will make it easier for people to get to major roadways in Fayetteville.

"It would be a great road to get straight to MLK Boulevard from Ruppel Road, because it would save traffic time," he said. "It will also save a lot of trouble for those who do not want to get onto the interstate."

Once construction is finished on the roadway, Mayor Jordan said it will have a huge impact on the people of Fayetteville.

"It will encourage economic development," he said. "It will encourage alternative transportation measures and it also will make the area safer."

Jordan said he expects construction on the project to begin in the Fall of next year.